World Cup: Power to the people

TURN ON, tune in and blow your local power station. The first three nights of France 98 electricity supplies have failed somewhere in Bangladesh during live broadcasts of matches as the number of TVs in use has drained the grid. Infuriated Bangladeshis stormed the power stations.

At least seven people were injured during a raid on power stations on Friday from the south-east tip of Teknaf to northernmost district of Kurigram, officials and police said on Saturday. On Thursday, eight technicians were hurt when fans smashed cars, barricaded roads and stormed offices of the Bangladeshi power authorities.

Power supplies are expected to improve but there is a fundamental problem. Bangladesh produces about 1,800 megawatts of electricity a day against a daily requirement of more than 2,200mw.

ENGLAND have their faith healer, Brazil their demon drummers. South Africa's extra-curricular motivation - not much help perhaps in the 3-0 defeat by France - comes from a wordsmith.

Zolani Mkiva is the bard of the Bafana Bafana, a poet and a storyteller who is accompanying the squad in France after finding favour as unofficial poet laureate to Nelson Mandela. Before Friday's game, he exhorted his countrymen to "fight like a lion in the forest and a tiger in the bush".

South Africa's Parisian coach Philippe Troussier favours more conventional methods, although he did earn the nickname of the "White Witch Doctor" during spells in charge of Nigeria and the Ivory Coast. A friend of Arsene Wenger, Troussier will be expected to work some blue and white magic with Sheffield Wednesday next season.

SAUDI ARABIA'S squad have a problem in seeking spiritual guidance - their Islamic prayer mats have been stolen. Thieves broke into 10 rooms at their headquarters in Marcq-en-Baroeul while the Saudis were playing Denmark and took the mats as part of a haul that included money, personal items and gifts worth about pounds 6,500.

The robbery was reported by hotel staff who arrived to clean the rooms after the game. Security guards left the hotel to have a coffee shortly before the break-in, according to reports.

THE number of American households watching the opening match was 57 per cent smaller than four years ago when the finals were held in the United States. Brazil's 2-1 victory over Scotland on Wednesday received a 0.8 cable rating, which translates to 592,000 homes among the 74 million who take the ESPN sports channel. In 1994, Germany's 1-0 victory over Bolivia got a 2.2 rating, about 1.39 million homes.

THE STRONG competition between kit-makers will not stop Saudi Arabia's goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Daye from wearing his favourite black jersey for sentimental reasons. In his side's opening World Cup match against Denmark on Friday, Al-Daye stuck to his top, even though it was not made by his team's suppliers. "Not only that but it also has a Fifa logo on it," said Keith Cooper, spokesman for the world game's governing body.

Al-Daye was presented with the jersey when he played in a special Fifa match in Hong Kong a year ago as the colony was returned to China. "He was so proud of being selected that he has been wearing it for internationals ever since," Cooper said. "As long as it complies with Fifa regulations and if his delegation allows him to wear it, then it's not a problem. In these times of over- commercialisation, it's nice to see that there is still a place for the human touch." That's an interesting thought from the voice of Fifa.

Mark Burton and Phil Shaw